Experience the traditions of Christmas past

Submitted by Rusty Light
•
Dec 2, 2019 at 4:30 PM

In a tradition dating back 200 years and continuing into the present, Netherland Inn and Hammond House plan to celebrate the Christmas holidays by welcoming friends and family members just as Margaret and Richard Netherland did in 1818.

1818 Christmas at the Inn, featuring beautiful decorations, good food, and lively music, will take place from 6 to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, and from 2 to 4 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 8, at Netherland Inn in Kingsport. There will be a silent auction for an antique quilt and a crocheted table cover at the inn during the event.

Paul Brummit and Alexander Creek will provide music at Netherland Inn on Friday night. Poplar Hill Reunion Band will perform on Saturday night, and harpist Christa Wenger will entertain on Sunday afternoon. Guests are encouraged to visit the reproduction Bank Barn, enjoy hot cider and the music of Howard and Pam Osborne on the dulcimer Friday night, Tammy Davis on hammered dulcimer on Saturday, and Cory B. James, Savannah Williams and Lily Miller (fiddle and guitar) on Sunday.

On Friday and Saturday nights, Civil War re-enactors from the John S. Mosby Camp-Sons of Confederate Veterans will portray living history characters and interact with guests as they tell about the area’s part in the war. Guests should also be sure to visit the schoolhouse cabin to watch demonstrations of quilting and drop spinning.

Tickets for 1818 Christmas at the Inn are $10 per person with children under 6 admitted free with a paying adult. Tickets are available at the door or in the visitor’s center cabin at the parking lot during the event. Reservations are not required, and there are no early ticket sales for the event. The inn is located at 2144 Netherland Inn Road in Kingsport.

Nearby Hammond House, located just a quarter mile away at 121 Shirley Street, will host its Victorian Christmas celebration from 2 to 4 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 8. John and Joy Mullen will provide the music and lead Christmas carols around the antique organ. Bill Dunn will provide the history of Hammond House, and costumed carolers from LampLight Theater will serenade guests. Admission to the Hammond House event is free, but donations to the site will be accepted and appreciated.

These holiday celebrations offer guests an opportunity to enjoy beautiful period natural decorations designed and provided by Kingsport garden clubs and volunteers, partake of delicious food, hear seasonal music, and visit with living history characters from Kingsport’s past.

All proceeds from the events go toward maintenance and restoration of the Netherland Inn and Boatyard Complex and the Hammond House and adding to the historic campuses. In addition to being recognized as the birthplace of Kingsport, the Netherland Inn is the only site on the National Register of Historic Places to have been both a boatyard and a stagecoach stop.